Korean Hand-made Noodle Soup with Clams, Bajirak Kalguksu

바지락 칼국수

1. Dough

Mix 4 cups of flour, 1 cup of water, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of vegetable oil. Knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic (about 10-15 min). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 min to allow the gluten to relax.

Mix

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup water
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ vegetable oil

Knead 15 min

Put it in fridge 30 min

2. Prepare short-neck clams

If you are using fresh live clams, place them in cold salt water (add 1 tbs of salt into 4 cups of water) and cover the bowl so the inside the bowl is dark. Leave it for a few hours and clams will open up and spit out sand. Wash in cold water twice and drain. If you are using frozen pre-washed clams, you can just add them in the soup later.

Place live clams in salt water

Cover

3. Broth

Boil 8 cups of water in a pot. Place 20 anchovies and 2 pieces of kelp (about 2” by 2”) in an anchovy net and put it in the boiling water. Once it start to boil, boil it with a lid for another 15 min on high heat.

Boil 8 cups water

Add

• 20 anchovies
• 2 kelp

Boil with lid

High Heat 15 min

4. Broth

Skim off the foams while boiling.

Skim off foams

5. Prepare onion

Peel, wash and cut 1 onion into ¼” (or 1 cm) thick slices.

Peel & wash

• 1 onion

Cut ¼” (1 cm) thick slices

6. Prepare potato

Peel and wash 1 potato. Cut it in half and then into ⅛” (or 0.5 cm) thick slices.

Peel & wash

• 1 potato

Cut in half

Cut ⅛” (0.5 cm) thick slices

7. Prepare zucchini

Wash and julienne ¼ of zucchini.

Wash & julienne

• ¼ Zucchini

8. Prepare green onion

Wash and cut 1 green onion diagonally.

Wash & cut

• 1 Green Onion

9. Prepare eggs for garnish

Separate egg yolks from egg whites into separate bowls. Season with a pinch of salt and beat it.

Separate

• Egg yolk
• Egg white

Season with a pinch of salt

Beat

10. Cook eggs

Preheat a non-stick pan on med-high heat. Coat with vegetable oil and spread the egg yolks thin in the pan. When it’s fully cooked, remove it from the pan and cool it down on the side. Repeat the same for egg whites.

Preheat pan Med Heat

Coat vegetable oil

Spread egg yolks thin

Cook

Cool down

Repeat for egg whites

11. Cut eggs

Once they are cooled down, cut into thin strips (to be used at the end). If they are still warm, you won’t be able to cut cleanly.

Cool down

Cut in strips

12. Prepare seaweed for garnish

Cut ½ large sheet (or 2 small sheets) of dried seaweed into thin strips with a clean dry pair of scissors (to be used at the end).

Cut

Strips

13. Roll Dough

Take out the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Clean, dry and dust the work surface with flour. Unwrap the dough and lightly dust your hands, dough and the rolling pin with flour. Pat down with your hands to make it flat. Roll the rolling pin to make the dough as thin as possible (about 2mm or thinner than 1/16”). (Always roll from the center of the dough and use even pressure.)

Take out dough from fridge

Dust with flour

• work surface
• dough
• hands
• rolling pin

Pat down

Roll (2mm or thinner than 1/16”)

14. Cut Noodles

Dust the dough with more flour. Fold the dough into thirds and cut it into 3mm wide strips.

Dust dough

Fold thirds

Cut (3mm or ⅛” wide)

15. Cook vegetables

Remove anchovies and kelp. Cook potatoes in boiling broth on high heat for 3 min . Then add onion and zucchini and cook for 2 min.

Remove anchovies and kelp.

Add potato in boiling broth

• cook High Heat 3 min

Add onion and zucchini

• cook High Heat 2 min

16. Precook noodles (Optional)

Precook noodles in boiling water and boil it for 1 min on high heat. Wash in cold water and drain water in a strainer. If you don’t pre-cook noodles, the broth will become more starchy.

Precook noodles

• 1 min
• High Heat

Wash cold water

Drain water

17. Add Short-neck clams

Add short-neck clams in the broth with all the vegetables and boil for 3 min.

Add short-neck clams

• boil High Heat 3 min

18. Add noodles & Season

Add pre-cooked noodles into the broth. Then, add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce for soup, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and chopped green onions. Cook until noodles are fully cooked and the clams have opened up. Season with ½ to 1 teaspoon of salt. Add salt gradually while tasting.

Add noodles

Season

• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tsp soy sauce for soup
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• green onion

Cook until noodles done

Season with salt

19. Serve

Serve in a noodle bowl. Add egg (white and yellow) strips and seaweed strips on top. Enjoy!

In a noodle bowl

Garnish

• egg strips
• seaweed strips